English

Alternative forms

• welsher (UK)

Noun

welcher ‎(plural welchers)

1. One who repeatedly, habitually welches.
2. (Britain, offensive slang) A Welshman or person of Welsh descent.

German

Etymology

From Old High German welih, wilih, from Proto-Germanic *hwilīkaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛlçɐ/
• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛʎ̞çɐ/ (regional variant)

Determiner

welcher

1. (interrogative) which; what

   Welche Farbe hat dein Kleid?

   What colour is your dress?

   Welches Buch in diesem Regal hast du am öftesten gelesen?

   Which book on this shelf have you read most often?

2. (relative, literary) which

   Er vergaß, die letzte Kugel aus dem Lauf zu nehmen, welcher Fehler ihn das Leben kosten würde.

   He forgot to remove the last bullet from the barrel, which mistake would cost him his life.

Pronoun

welcher

1. (interrogative) which (one)

   Hier sind zwei Jacken, welche ist deine?

   There are two jackets here, which one is yours?

2. (relative, literary) that; which; who; whom

   Der Mann, welchen sie als ihren Nachbarn erkannte, lag tot auf dem Bürgersteig.

   The man, whom she recognized to be her neighbour, was lying dead on the pavement.

Usage notes

• Welcher as a relative pronoun is virtually never used in the vernacular. It occurs more often in literary German, but overusing it is a typical trait of a pretentious style (generally corrected by editors). The normal relative pronoun in all registers of German is der and its forms.

Declension